Michel Suleiman

Michel Suleiman (21 November 1948-) was President of Lebanon from 25 May 2008 to 24 May 2014, succeeding Emile Lahoud.

Biography
Michel Suleiman was born on 21 November 1948 in Amsheet, Lebanon to a family of Catholic Maronites. He entered the Lebanese Army in 1967 and served as commander of the Lebanese 11th Infantry Brigade on 6 June 1993, fighting against Israeli forces in the West Beqaa Valley and South Lebanon regions until 15 January 1996, and on 21 December 1998 he was appointed commander-in-chief of the Lebanese Army as a result of his family relations to a high-ranking Syrian official. While in this position he fought against the Fatah al-Islam terrorist group in the Nahr ar-Bared refugee camp in the north of the country, crushing the rebellious Palestinians that year. On 25 May 2008, he was chosen as the new President of Lebanon after a year-long political deadlock after Emile Lahoud left office. During his tenure, Suleiman had to deal with terrorism within and on the borders of Lebanon. Jund al-Sham, Fatah al-Islam, and the Abdullah Azzam Brigades led radical Sunni Muslim insurgencies against the Lebanese government, and Suleiman had to deal with the inter-religious clashes that resulted from the spillover of the Syrian Civil War. Pro-Syrian groups (mostly Shi'ite) such as Hezbollah, the PFLP-GC, Amal Movement, SSNP, and Lebanese Communist Party clashed with the anti-Syrian (Sunni) groups such as the al-Nusra Front, Islamic State, Islamic Front, Free Syrian Army, and the insurgent Sunni groups within Lebanon, and the army had to intervene in the clashes. The Tripoli neighborhoods of Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen were divided into Sunni and Shia areas, respectively, and they were home to feuding warlords who waged interreligious warfare. Suleiman left office in 2014 after elections, but a political deadlock led to further violence, with Prime Minister Tammam Salam being acting President.